Apparatus for concentrating ores.



STATES PATENT OFFICE! JOHN MQ CAI.LOW,.OE ySALT LAKE CITY, UTAII, yAssIdNoR'ToMETALS RECOVERY COMPANY, OE` AUGUsTaMAINE, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

APPARATUS FOR CONCENTRATING OREs.

To all whom 'it may concern Be it-known that I, JOHN M. CALLow, a subject of the King of Great Britain, re-

siding at Salt 'Lake City, in the county of Salt Lake and State of Utah, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus 'for Concentrating Ores, ofV which the following is a speciication.

My invention relates to an apparatus for concentrating metallic ores by separating the metalliferous particles from the nonmetalliferous or barren or rocky constituents thereof.

An important object of the present invention is the provision of novel means for relieving the tailings chamber of a flotation tank of much of the heavy or sandy portion of the rejected gangue while permitting the.

slimes and water tov be discharged through a separate outlet. Y v

With the above and other'objects in view my invention consists of the parts and the constructions, arrangements and combinations of parts wlnch I will hereinafter descr1be and'clalm.

In the accompanymg drawings forming part of this specification the ligure illustwo dissimilar'oils or an oil and acid, or an Oil and an alkali, or some other suitable substance, is mixed with finely ground ore pulp and the mixture is then subjected to aeration for the purpose of producing a froth composed lof bubbles of air and oil to which the mineral particles attach, said froth having the appearance of an aggregatwn ormass of soap bubbles, which when collected and the froth discharged or broken'down by natural settlement or by the additionof cold water, or other means, displacesthe mineral particles that have been caught.

In the accompanying drawings f embodying my aforesaid invent1on, 10, represents a tank of su1table material and which is.V

hereby shown as of substantiallyrectangular form and comprising a bottom, 11, front and rear ends, 12, 13 and sides l14:, the bottom in Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed March 4, 1916. Serial No. 82,185.I

.charge controlled by a valve,

Patented Oct. 17, 1916.

f the present instance being shown inclined to facilitate the travel of the sandy constituent of the pulp to the tail end of the tank. Support-ed or sustained in any appropriate manner, is a false bottom, 15, of some suitable porous or Apervious material, which should have the function of permitting the passage through it of a gaseous medium, but notthe water or pulp.

Beneath the aforesaid permeable bottom of the tank is a chamber which may be discontinuous Or may run continuously from one end of the tank to the other.

The permeable bottom may be inclined or otherwise arranged and for present purposes I show said bottom inclined to facilitate the movement thereover to a tailingsl chamber 20, of the coarse sands or rejected gangue. I also show the air chamber as discontinuous ormade up of a series of sepa.

rate chambers, each of which underlies a portion ofthe porous bed or bottom, and is supplied with air or a gaseous medium under pressure, which when admitted into a pulp containing water and finely ground ore and a frothable agent, will generate bubbles which rise through the pulp and serve as carriers for the metalliferous par.- ticles, said bubbles accumulating on the surface of the liquid constituent of the pulp and overflowing at or near the top of the tank into a suitable launder, 16.

At the head end of the tank there is disposed a partition, 17, the lower end of which terminates above the porous bottom, said partition forming between itself and the adjacent end' of the tank, a chamber, 18, into which the tank.

At the tail end of the tank there is a cham ber, 20, into which the lower or discharge end of the porous bottom empties. Into this chamber the coarse sands or tailings too heavy to be elevated by the bubbles and which are gradually conveyed over the pO- rous floor by inclining the floor, or by other instrumentalities, and are finally received into said chamber, which has a bottom dis- 21, which in the present instance has a stem, 22, extending upwardly to the top of the tank and pro'- vided with a hand-wheel,23, or other agency by which the valve maybe raised from its seat to uncover the discharge opening and -pulp is delivered and permitted to escape under the partition and into the allow a part or all of the accumulated tailings to be delivered from the aforesaid chamber. This valve really serves, in- 'the present instance, as a so-called bleeder for the sand;I portions'of the pulp and is intended to effect a sort of classification of the tailings by removing the heavy sandy -constituents thereof from the slimes and- Water, which latter are discharged through a pipe, 24, which connects with the chamber, 20, at a point above the bottom of the latter and extends upwardly to a suitable height and is adapted to control the level of the liquid in the tank, in a manner Well known portion of the tailings which have in this art.

The slimes and water discharged from the pipe, 24, may be sent to the head end of al` second or cleaner tank, 25, similar to the.-

tank irst described, or said slimes and water may be sent for admixture with the sandy4 been removed from the tailings chamber by open-` ing the valve, 2l, and which combined mate.-

rial may be sent to a regrinding machine or to al reconcentrating device or can be otherwise treated for the recovery of any remaining. valuable mineral particles.

The apparatusv4 substantially as described is simple in construction and provides for such a. classiication of the tailings that p much of the coarse sands'foundin the Vtailings is separated from the slimes and\.water before the latter enters the discharge or overflow pipe and hence the latter will not become clogged by the heavy sands seeking an outlet through the same.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let- 1. The combination with a plurality of porous Lbottom, gaseous-bubble separatory tanks, the initial tank having a tailings chamber with a normally slightly open outi let for coarse sands, cfa connectlon between said tanks having one end communicatingl with said tailin s chamber abovebut proximate to the tai ings outlet and having the other end leading into the head end of an' other. tank, said connection having such capacity and discharging in such proximity pacity and discharging in such proximity to the pulp level in the initialtank as to maintain a classifying current in the tailings chamber, and said connection being adother tank, said connection having such cajustable to vary the liquid level in the initial tank.

3. .A separatory cell, having a porous bottom and means for admitting a gaseous medium therethrough, said tank having a de'- pressed tailings chamber at the terminus of said bottom, the bottom of said chamber having a normally slightly open valve-controlled outlet for coarse sands, and a. pipe connection exterior to the tail end of the tank having one end entering the tailings chamber slightly above the tailings outlet and in such proximity to the pulp level in said chamber as to maintain a classifying current therein. v

In testimony whereof I afiixmy signature.

JOHN M. CALLOW. 

